This year we have developed a new service to offer which involves safeguarding water supplies by removing most bacteria and viruses which can be found in newly constructed water mains. With considerable research and investment we are able to provide chlorination services with extremely high accuracy while insuring every measure is taken to safeguard the health of people and the environment.

Since we began offering the service we have gained experience in a large number of projects varying in complexity and scale. This includes completion of works for consulting engineers, construction companies and county council across the country.

Before initiation of works onsite for a project all the necessary calculation are completed and documentation is reviewed. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration to ensure that a line is safely chlorinated and because of this our engineers and technicians are highly trained and this includes identification of risks and hazards.

On completion of works we provide how the chlorination process has performed in the form of a detailed report. This report includes the results of the biological tests carried out by an independent and Irish Water authorised laboratory. Also included in the report are the primary steps taken for that specific project.

This week in Paris, our president Michael D. Higgins is to deliver a speech which aims to encourage government action in the face of climate change. Unsurprisingly, securing a common ground on how best to protect our environment has been difficult – contentious science and vested interests have stunted many initiatives to control how we use energy. However, if you’ll excuse the water pun, the tide seems to be turning.

Mr. Higgins is to highlight the incontrovertible evidence that unless the environment becomes a priority, serious and irreversible damage to humanity will be caused. A “profusion of science and a deficit of conscience” in modern, individualistic attitudes towards consumption has catapulted politicians towards this impasse.

In this own country, the methodology behind the protection of water as resource carries its own controversy, one which will probably not be resolved any time soon. Charging people on a usage basis is one method of ensuring people are more conscientious about their consumption, but this model is not reflected on a national or international level – large companies have no incentive to reduce irresponsible consumption as long as their profits can handily cover usage costs and fines. This has resulted in the problem governments now face, as Mr. Higgins has confirmed in his speech: the models of economics and development do not support good environmental practice or people most affected by climate change.

At our end, we look at our water conservation and leak detection work as a way of helping both individuals and large corporations to realise that systematic, preventable waste benefits no-one. Mr. Higgins’ speech indicates that ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind’ culture may not prevail for much longer – this can only be a good thing for the international community and its future.

Ireland’s relationship with water use is in a well-documented transitional period, as water meters are rolled out across the country and charges for use loom on the horizon. Despite a largely negative reaction to this scheme, the potential for conservation is promising and important – leak detection works and water saving products are a boon for homeowners and the environment alike. While we may never see droughts as severe as those currently ravaging the west coast of North America, a wasteful infrastructure poses a huge threat to natural resources and people.

Reservoirs are drained of water in California, scuppering the chance of any pleasant boat rides.

Municipalities in California are scrambling for water as we speak, with mandatory cutbacks and fines being implemented in the face of a historic drought – a 25% reduction in water use is the target for the state. The fight for resources has, in some quarters, become bitter – the practice of drought shaming has taken social media by storm, with residents of areas hit by water scarcity publicly condemning over-watered gardens and driveway car-washing. “According to a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, 66% of Californians believe that their neighbours are not doing enough to save water” (BBC News). Environmental patterns make it abundantly clear that California’s drought problems will be a fixture for the coming decades, yet the serious revision of water policy is only beginning.

That water is now a precious commodity will be no surprise to many people in the world, particularly in countries typically regarded as economically poorer. Now that much wealthier jurisdictions like California are experiencing widely-publicised difficulty, it is important we consider our own attitudes to water on a personal and governmental scale. The idea of shaming people for using wasting water may be a little extreme in countries such as Ireland where rainfall is predictable (sometimes too predictable), but a clean, constant supply drinking water is no longer a commodity. The financial incentive to reduce waste will hopefully see more responsible, environmentally friendly usage.

We recently travelled to Bunratty Castle in County Clare, where our products have been introduced to all toilet facilities within the castle. Eco-tourism is a growing market in the travel industry, with many visitors to Ireland becoming conscious of more earth-friendly choices – cultural heritage sites focused on saving water show responsibility and reap the goodwill of consumers. Twenty three urinals have been fitted with our waterless key valve system, which pays for itself by reducing water usage and improving hygiene.

Eighty taps in bathroom facilities across the park have been fitted with a variety of aerators, offering a very easy, cost effective way to bring down water use and costs. These aerators create a controlled sharp or foamy flow which is much more efficient than that of a standard tap.

Another measure introduced to bathrooms came in the form of cistern displacement bags we placed in fifty toilets around Bunratty Castle. These bags are inexpensive and reduce the amount of water a cistern uses so that no water is wasted.

All in all, this constitutes a successful change in Bunratty’s water management strategy and one which is already showing results and should continue to do so in the coming years.

At the moment we’re trying to reach out to group water schemes across Ireland and encourage them to contact us – we offer free consultations to scheme supervisors concerned about leakages and unaccounted for water on their networks.

With all the changes occurring across Ireland in relation to water supply, people in group water schemes can feel isolated. However, approaching our water systems from a conservation and optimisation perspective is a sure-fire way of proceeding in uncertain times – a detailed survey of your water network can be used for any eventuality in years to come, and informs the choices you make now. Our comprehensive leak detection and survey package gives group water schemes control and knowledge which they can implement as they look to lower costs and improve service.

Businesses could benefit from taking a three-pronged approach to fast-track effective water management strategies, a sustainability expert has said.

Writing in a Corporate Eco Forum blog, Ecolab’s vice president of corporate sustainability, Emilio Tenuta advised companies to first acknowledge the issue and associated risks at both site and organisation level.

“A smart water management strategy starts with understanding the water-related risks facing your business, which could result in business disruption, supply chain interruption, rising costs of operation, and barriers to growth,” he said.

These risks include increased demands on local water supplies, insufficient water quantity or quality, inadequate water infrastructure and changing climate conditions altering historic water availability.

“It is important to understand these risks at the site level, as well as the broader implications for business operations in the surrounding community. If we assess the real and future risks facing us at the site level, enterprise level, and surrounding community, we can begin to see how our operations will affect others in our shared watersheds and vice versa,” Tenuta added.

CHILDREN will be allocated only enough water to have a single shower and one toilet flush a day, despite Government promises parents won’t have to pay for any water used by their kids.

Kids and teenagers under the age of 18 will have their promised free water allowance slashed almost in half under new plans by Irish Water.

The company has requested a dramatic reduction in the free allowance from 38,000 litres a year to just 21,000 litres in its submission to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which was lodged last week.

The extent of the proposed cut casts fresh doubts over the Government’s promise that average family bills will be capped at €240 a year.

Despite this, Taoiseach Enda Kenny last week insisted in the Dail children’s water usage would be free and the average metered-charge per family per year would not be more than €240.

When asked by Sinn Fein’s Peadar Tobin about any potential cut to the free allowance, Mr Kenny said: “The assessments for the use of water by children have certainly changed since the original assessments were carried out based on water usage in a different jurisdiction as we did not have water meters here at all. The regulator will determine that amount.”

But he added: “There will be an average metered-charge of €240 per year and children’s use will be free. That will not change.”

Irish Water was heavily criticised by the Oireachtas Environment Committee earlier this month for failing to produce its submission document on charges and tariffs, despite promising to do so.

The company was forced to revise its earlier business model after the Government scrapped the planned €50 standing charge for all households.

Coca-Cola remains on track to become ‘water neutral’ by 2020, having last year returned 68% of the water used in its finished beverages to the communities it was taken from.

An estimated 108.5 billion litres of water was replenished to communities and nature through 509 community water projects in more than 100 countries, according to the drinks giant’s latest water stewardship report.

“At Coca-Cola, water stewardship is a primary focus of our sustainability efforts across our global system,” said The Coca-Cola Company’s chief sustainability officer Beatriz Perez. “By setting and working to meet our ambitious goals, we are effectively and responsibly managing the valuable resource on which our business relies.

“In addition to the announcement of today’s milestone, we have seen a pervasive uptake across the entire Coca-Cola system with 80% of our business units on track or ahead of pace to meet their 2020 water replenishment goals.

We have worked with many county councils in the past and continue to do so. Some of the work we do for councils includes leak detection, water surveys and implementing rainwater harvesting devices.

Recently we completed a water survey on a local government office for a local county council . As part of the audit we identfied key areas where they could save money by installing water saving devices such as hippo bags and aerators. We also set up a logger to track their water usage. By analysing the data collected we can determine if there may be a leaking pipe (e.g. if there is a huge volume of water being used during the night whenthere would be no one on the premises).

County Councils often refer people in their local area who are experiencing leaks to us. We have carried out work on numerous domestic leaks all around Ireland including Counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway and Dublin. We use a range of techniques to detect leaks including the tracer gas method and finding leaks through the use of acoustic leak detection equipment. Below is a picture of one of the leaks we found at a domestic clients home.

A county manager, Tom Curran from Kerry County Council recently warned that Irish Water has been set up too quickly and that it would not be able to adequately cope with the number of leaks on the network.

In the past we have provided some of the biggest companies in Ireland with rainwater harvesting solutions.

With increasing costs of bringing water to a potable/drinking standard we must look at new ways of reducing our demand on mains water while still maintaining our living standards. Our Smart Rainwater Harvesting System is that solution.

Our rainwater harvesting tanks can be used to collect rainwater which is then used in toilets, washing machines and showers etc. This will give you huge reductions on your commercial water bill.

We offer a wide range of external water tanks for commercial sites starting from 920 Litres all the way up to 10,000 Litres.

Below are some picture of a 10,000 Litre tank we installed at a factory in Dublin. The rainwater harvested was then used to flush urinals. We also fitted urinal flush controllers so that only the optimal amount of rainwater would be used to flush the urinals and none of it would be wasted.